Lucy's birth was amazing; it was fast, intense, and so special. Our house was in utter disarray, with boxes everywhere, but Lucy is the best house warming gift we could have ever received. Jake and I both can be perfectionists and we always like to have things orderly, so our little Lucy Mae is our sweet reminder that life doesn't have to be perfect or organized to be enjoyed, and that special, sacred, beautiful moments can be found in the chaos. And with five kids there's definitely lots of chaos! We feel so blessed to have another beautiful baby join our family and we just love our little red headed beauty.

Hypnobabies was extremely helpful to me in preparing me mentally to believe in my ability to fulfill my calling as a woman. I am so thankful to have had the experience to reach within myself and truly find my inner God given strength.

I felt confident and excited for my upcoming birth. I don’t think that Hypnobabies is something that works for those who are only partly committed. It takes full commitment and dedication. It does take time every day to practice the techniques and tools, but it is so worth it. The practice really pays off. It felt so good to me to learn how to relax both my mind and body and it helped me to achieve my goals throughout pregnancy and childbirth.

I finally decided to just let go. I decided to focus on what I wanted. I convinced myself that I was going to have the most kick-ass birth, ever. And in the meantime, I decided to find things to do to keep me as happy and occupied as humanly possible, so I would quit focusing on how much I DIDN'T want to be pregnant anymore. Looking back, those last few days before the birth were actually full of some great final "before baby" bonding moments with Miles. We were able to get out of the house and explore and enjoy the amazing spring weather.

Whether a woman is expecting her first or ninth baby, pregnancy and birth are important events in her life. Women who take time to prepare prenatally can have easier, more comfortable pregnancies and births. Here is a list of things that can help you as you prepare to give birth.

Hire a care provider

Many women today are looking for more natural birthing options, like un-medicated birth, water birth, delayed cord clamping, and immediate skin-to-skin with baby after the birth. Read some books on childbirth to find out what is important to you and then talk to your care provider and ask how he or she plans to support you in achieving the birth you desire. Remember, your doctor or midwife works for you, and it is in your best interest to hire one that is supportive of your desires.

Lucy's birth was amazing; it was fast, intense, and so special. Our house was in utter disarray, with boxes everywhere, but Lucy is the best house warming gift we could have ever received. Jake and I both can be perfectionists and we always like to have things orderly, so our little Lucy Mae is our sweet reminder that life doesn't have to be perfect or organized to be enjoyed, and that special, sacred, beautiful moments can be found in the chaos. And with five kids there's definitely lots of chaos! We feel so blessed to have another beautiful baby join our family and we just love our little red headed beauty.

Hypnobabies was extremely helpful to me in preparing me mentally to believe in my ability to fulfill my calling as a woman. I am so thankful to have had the experience to reach within myself and truly find my inner God given strength.

I felt confident and excited for my upcoming birth. I don’t think that Hypnobabies is something that works for those who are only partly committed. It takes full commitment and dedication. It does take time every day to practice the techniques and tools, but it is so worth it. The practice really pays off. It felt so good to me to learn how to relax both my mind and body and it helped me to achieve my goals throughout pregnancy and childbirth.

There are many non conventional options regarding pregnancy, birth and postpartum care. These often are not related to physician or hospital care. These options may or may not be covered by your insurance. Things such as prenatal and postpartum massage, chiropractic care, birth doula support, placenta encapsulation, acupuncturist care the list can go on. The first step in determining what care you would like to receive would be to research the many options.

I finally decided to just let go. I decided to focus on what I wanted. I convinced myself that I was going to have the most kick-ass birth, ever. And in the meantime, I decided to find things to do to keep me as happy and occupied as humanly possible, so I would quit focusing on how much I DIDN'T want to be pregnant anymore. Looking back, those last few days before the birth were actually full of some great final "before baby" bonding moments with Miles. We were able to get out of the house and explore and enjoy the amazing spring weather.

Whether a woman is expecting her first or ninth baby, pregnancy and birth are important events in her life. Women who take time to prepare prenatally can have easier, more comfortable pregnancies and births. Here is a list of things that can help you as you prepare to give birth.

Hire a care provider

Many women today are looking for more natural birthing options, like un-medicated birth, water birth, delayed cord clamping, and immediate skin-to-skin with baby after the birth. Read some books on childbirth to find out what is important to you and then talk to your care provider and ask how he or she plans to support you in achieving the birth you desire. Remember, your doctor or midwife works for you, and it is in your best interest to hire one that is supportive of your desires.

Doulas are awesome. Plain and simple. These incredible women provide invaluable service to mothers around the world. A more natural birth experience is on the rise and for good reason. Check out these seven reasons why you need a doula!

Lisa Larson from The Spectrum interviewed me about Hypnobabies back in November. What a fun experience! Hypnosis for birth is gaining interest as more women and their birth care providers see how well it works. You can see the entire interviewHERE.

I am so glad that I found Hypnobabies. I loved the Joyful Pregnancy Affirmations. I feel that they helped me to be more confident during pregnancy and during my birth. The Hypnobabies program is fantastic! I love telling people that I loved my birthing time, and I really did. I was actually sad when it was all over. I highly recommend taking the Hypnobabies course. The live class is so great because you can ask questions and get to know other couples who are making similar choices for birth, much like a support group. I also encourage a hypo-doula. Kelly was such an asset to my birth team. She allowed Mike to take much-needed breaks and support me on a level that only a woman can. Even when she was just sitting next to me holding my hand I felt her strength.

The night before her birth, I went to bed having pressure waves (Hypnobabies lingo for contractions) and even woke up during the night with more pressure waves, but then I would fall back asleep. This was typical of the past 3 weeks, so I tried not to get my hopes up about this being my actual birthing time. But, around 5:30 a.m. they were starting to regulate and at 7:30 a.m. they were about 7-10 minutes apart and over a minute long. I decided I should call Cyndi. I also sent my doula a text. She told me earlier in the week that she was going to be out of town. I asked her if she had left town yet. She had already left, but I wasn't worried; everything happens for a reason and I knew I was in good hands. I sent my mom and sister a text telling them that it was finally time and I hoped it really was this time (I had a few false alarms in the past month)! My midwife arrived around 8:30 and my mom and sister shortly after.

This blog post is from Karen's doula client Elizabeth. She is a registered dietitian nutritionist and author of the blog, Enjoy Every Bite. Thank you Elizabeth for sharing how you prepared for the birth of your beautiful baby boy!

This topic has been on my mind for several different reasons. I recently had a conversation with a pregnant friend who called her OBGYN’s office explaining that she wanted a natural birth. The receptionist’s response was, “We don’t do that procedure here.” Wait, what? You don’t let a woman deliver her baby without medication?

I pretty much thought that I would go over my "guess date" because I've never gone into labor with any of my other babies early. My guess date was June 18th. Secretly I wanted him to be born on a even number (or even better the 28th) since all of our birthdays are even numbers. I guess I'm just weird like that! When my due date came and went we were trying everything under the sun to get him to come. We ate at Pepper's Cantina a few times, always ordering their spicy salsa and sauce over my enchiladas. That night I would feel more pressure waves start, but they always stopped when I got up to go to the bathroom. I really felt like I might be pregnant forever!

Growing up I had always planned on getting an epidural during labor, but I found myself reevaluating that decision when I was actually pregnant for the first time. I did a lot of reading and talked to several friends who had experienced an unmedicated birth. This appealed to me and I decided I would also try to have a natural childbirth.